Local cellist Natalie Helm will be presenting her three part performance of Bach Immersion as part of SCD’s In Studio Performance Series

September 27, 2021—Sarasota

Sarasota Contemporary Dance continues its In-Studio Performance Series as part of its 16th Season! SCD’s In-Studio Performance Series is an incubation platform for artists at varying stages in their careers. Conceived by Artistic Director Leymis Bolaños Wilmott to provide creators a nurturing and formative artistic opportunity, artists receive access to SCD’s home studio and its resources. Whether they’re showing a work-in-progress or adding the final touches to a developed work, the residency culminates in a live performance followed by a Q&A with the featured artist.

SCD’s next In-Studio Performance is approaching, and it is thrilled to host the incredible local cellist Natalie Helm. Natalie is a Principal Cellist of the Sarasota Orchestra, who has been praised as having a sound that “catches the attention of the room” and “leaves a lasting impression.” LA Times proclaimed the audience “was transfixed” by her performance that was “handled ardently.” A cellist of musical grace and extraordinary versatility, Natalie Helm enjoys a dynamic career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician, and educator.

For her In-Studio Performances, Helm explores J.S. Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello as they’ve never been experienced: through a multi-sensory interactive performance, which Helm titles Bach Immersion. Over the course of this three-part concert series, the audience will travel into each Suite’s unique world through a live musical performance alongside a myriad of other art disciplines, including dance, painting, photography, spoken word, fashion design, and food. With guest artists collaborating with Natalie and interpreting the music in conjunction with the audience, Bach Immersion will create a unique and one-of-a-kind experience

“I am beyond thrilled to be collaborating with SCD, Benjamin Kirby, Camilyn Beth, and cannot wait for the audience to experience Bach Immersion I!” Says Natalie. “The space at SCD is unique in the sense that you can truly transform it into anything you can imagine. It has the capability to create different worlds for each piece or performance, which is the exact goal for Bach Immersion I. It’s spacious yet maintains an intimate atmosphere so the audience really feels involved and can easily be entranced in the experience.”

Bach Immersion I, the first performance of Natalie Helm’s Bach Immersion series, premiers October 22nd-23^rd. Bach Immersion I features St. Petersburg-based spoken word performer Benjamin J. Kirby, Sarasota fashion designer Camilyn Beth, along with curated hors d’oeuvres that relate to the theme of the performance. With these elements combined, Natalie’s goal with her Bach Immersion series is to create a unique and immersive experience for the audience to enjoy.

Join SCD it welcomes Natalie Helm to its home studio for Bach Immersion I, her first In-Studio Performance this October. The second and third performances of her series, Bach Immersion II and Bach Immersion III, will occur later this November and next April. More information to follow.

Both In-Person and Virtual Streaming options will be available!

For tickets, click the link below.

Bach Immersion I tickets:

https://ci.ovationtix.com/35361/production/1079449

Bach Immersion II tickets:

https://ci.ovationtix.com/35361/production/1079460

Bach Immersion III tickets coming soon!

For more information about our In-Studio Performance Series, click the link below:

https://www.sarasotacontemporarydance.org/in-studio

In Studio Performance Series featuring Natalie Helm
Bach Immersion

In-Person Performances

Bach Immersion I

• Friday, October 22nd, 2021, at 7pm
• Saturday, October 23rd, 2021, at 7pm

Bach Immersion II

• Friday, November 12^th, 2021, at 7pm
• Saturday, November 13^th, 2021, at 7pm

Bach Immersion III

• Friday, April 15^th , 2022, at 7pm
• Saturday, April 16^th, 2022, at 7pm

Virtual Stream Performance

• Bach Immersion I: Saturday, October 23^rd at 7pm
• Bach Immersion II: Saturday, November 13^th at 7pm
• Bach Immersion III: Saturday, April 16^th at 7pm.

Location

Sarasota Contemporary Dance Home Studio
1400 Boulevard of the Arts Suite 300
Sarasota, FL, 34234

About Natalie Helm
Born in Louisville, KY, Ms. Helm began studying the cello at age eleven. After only five years of playing the cello, she was accepted into the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music studying with Peter Wiley and David Soyer. Ms Helm also holds an Artist Diploma from the Colburn School of Music where she studied with Ronald Leonard.Helm’s recent engagements include solo appearances with the Sarasota Orchestra, Dana Point Symphony, and Montgomery Symphony Orchestra. Chamber appearances include recitals throughout the U.K. and U.S. with the genre-crossing DuoSkope and Sorella Duo. You can find Helm on iTunes, Amazon Music, and Spotify. Helm has had the opportunity to perform internationally throughout Italy, Germany, and Japan. In 2016, she toured the United States and performed in over 30 cities in three weeks. Helm’s performances have been broadcast on NPR, iHeartRadio, Fox News, and PEOPLE Magazine. Music is a powerful elixir for change and Helm has embraced this idea through Upward Notes. As the founder, she brings musicians together to perform and create opportunities to bring positive social change to the communities she works in. Natalie spends her summers on faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp, Curtis Institute of Music’s Summerfest, and Associate Faculty at the Sarasota Music Festival. She gives masterclasses at USF and has been on the faculty of the Pasadena School for Strings in Pasadena, California, Montgomery Music Project in Montgomery, Alabama, and Go-go Allegro in Boston, Massachusetts and was a member of the Des Moines Opera Festival for three seasons. Helm plays on a Raphael di Blasio cello from 1803.

About Benjamin J. Kirby
Benjamin J. Kirby is a writer living in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 2021, the journal Wingless Dreamer chose his poem, “The Fountain of Youth,” for inclusion in their Spring Anthology. His unpublished Florida crime novel, CANEBRAKE, received an Honorable Mention in the Black Spring Press Crime Fiction Prize 2020. He won first place for his prompt in the 2020 Lewis County Writers Guild competition, benefiting the Doyle McKim Legacy Annual Scholarship, which supports writing students at Centralia College. Previous work, including a top-ten selection in Creative Loafing’s Fiction Contest, has appeared in WordWrights Magazine, a publication of the Argonne House Press, and literary magazine Apathy, formerly published on the campus of George Mason University. For more than eight years he published an award-winning, nationally-recognized, Newstex-syndicated political blog called The Spencerian. Now defunct, the Florida-based blog covered national and local politics, as well as federal, state and local government. Later posts also covered fatherhood and family life in and around the Tampa Bay region. The Spencerian was ranked by the Washington Post as one of the best state-based blogs in Florida, and was recognized locally as a must-read. Benjamin is a communications expert, community advocate, and political professional. He currently serves as the Communications Director for the Mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida

About Camilyn Beth
Camilyn Beth, most commonly known as “Cami” is a women’s wear fashion designer. Her first collection launched in Fall/Winter of 2014. Cami worked in the fashion industry for several years, including her work at a couture house in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2011 Cami was invited to 16 weddings in one year, with her past experience & education she decided to design her own dresses for each wedding. A year later in 2012 Cami founded Camilyn Beth. Cami is living out her dream of creating beautiful & unique clothing for sweet & stylish people around the world. Camilyn Beth is a contemporary women’s wear collection that specializes in classic designs with a retro modern twist.  The collection is primarily inspired by past era’s of fashion. Cami designs the collection in sunny Sarasota, FL & each garment manufactured with love in New York. From the beach to the city, Cami is inspired by the beauty of her surroundings. Each dress is made with quality materials & American craftsmanship. Cami believes in sustainable fashion & that her dresses can be worn multiple times for special events in life